Tyche
by wearethewitches
Summary: continuation of starry night 'verse-/Apollo-Poseidon/ - happiness, however, can come in the darkest of times.


It is both a blessing and a curse that J'onn is able to rescue the squalling Martian babe, whimpering and radiating slowly fading mental waves, trying to call out to her mother – a mother who J'onn can tell is dead, alongside her sire, at least three aunts and uncles and one grandsire. The tethers are still there, wiggling in the mindscape in search of the other ends that have been cruelly – fatally – torn from her.

J'onn bonds with her and unravels the anchor-points, leaving the young girl, _E'hlan_ alone, except for him.

Having a link with her causes him anguish, as he knows that his girls, his T'ania and his K'hym are both dead and gone, as well as their mother, his heart-mate M'yri'ah – but the link also helps him. J'onn has always been sensitive for a Martian, his mental capabilities far further-reaching and powerful than his neighbours and elders. Linking with E'hlan ensures he can quiet and silence her when they have to play dead, holding her tight against his chest and stiffening as much as he can when White Martians kick him to see if he's still alive, keeping to the stereotypical 'dead Green Martian' pose.

E'hlan is far less quiet on their flight through the stars. She is young – so very, very young – and J'onn can tell she will be a curious one, someone who might revel in exploring and investigating. Planet-hopping to Earth, however, makes him aware that E'hlan will not have that chance to grow. They have to run and hide, for Humans are afraid of what they do not understand – and a green, eight foot tall alien from Mars is something they definitely do not understand.

J'onn is lucky to find an amazingly kind woman who comes to their rescue, giving them sanctuary for well over fifty years before her son inherits her manor home and directs to them a remote cabin in the Pyrenees to live in, without any terms or conditions other than to stay there and inform his family via letter should they move on. E'hlan at the manor was able to grow, her first quarter centennial passing. She learned to walk, speak three different languages – New Martian, Ancient Martian and their caregiver's _français_ – in that manor and the move to the cabin is a big change for them both.

The woman's son makes sure they get regular deliveries of needed supplies – such as food, soaps, clothes and other essential items – but something about living far from Humans, even though they are Humans, makes J'onn uneasy. Of course, it makes it easier to train E'hlan, to teach her how to control her mental abilities and other, physical abilities such as flying and 'super-strength', as the woman once called it. However, there are certain drawbacks and they come in the form of Human relations and keeping adequate Human form in front of them.

In E'hlan's defence, though, neither of them expected the German officials to inform them that due to their landlord's death and his son's court martial, death-by-squadron-fire, all the family's assets were being seized and they were being evicted. J'onn does not blame E'hlan for losing control and reverting to her natural form, not in the slightest.

' _Papa, where do we go? What are we supposed to do?'_

J'onn squeezes her hand as they fly through the blizzard, heading north. _'We hide, as we have always done.'_

But E'hlan is barely a full centennial old and so, they cannot fly forever. Maybe J'onn might have been able to make the flight across the ocean, however he would not force his daughter to do the same, not when she is barely able to be called full-grown. They touch ground again in Paris, taking Human form – creating new identities, J'onn becoming _Jacques Laurent_ and E'hlan, _Elise Laurent_ – while J'onn tries to understand what is going on in the Human world.

" _A great war_ ," a shop-keeper grunts, " _Idiot kid, Gabriel or something, killed the Archbishop. It started a war between some of the most powerful nations in the world and it's only getting bigger as time goes by. Now leave, I've customers to see to._ "

Paris soon shows itself not to be a good place to be, when bombs drop and J'onn nearly gets his whole arm blown off as a fiery explosion rocks the building beside them. He's lucky that no-one saw his transformation drop, before he was able to get away from the fire and become his Human persona of _Jacques_ again.

"We will go to _America_ ," J'onn tells E'hlan, when she asks what they're going to do. "It is far, far from this war."

World War One ends when Germany signs an armistice, but World War Two starts less than half a centennial later. J'onn, to both his and E'hlan's horror, is forcefully drafted into the American army in late nineteen forty-four. J'onn transfers to the Navy as soon as he can, not wanting to be on the front lines if he can help it and with all the paperwork horror and how long it takes for everything to go through, J'onn misses out on being sent overseas when the war ends the next year.

"It was terrifying, being on my own for so long," E'hlan curls up into his chest on their sofa when he returns, still in Human form despite all the stress she's been dealing with, a great, but sad achievement. "The Humans helped me though. I've been with you my entire life and when you went to training…it was terrifying, papa, but the Humans helped. I even joined a womans society."

J'onn, curling a protective arm around her, thinks of the elders on Mars and how they ruled their society – how every village was ruled by a female elder, so unlike Earth with its patriarchy and male-enthusiast culture.

"Good, good for you," he says, even though what he wants to say is _the existence of womans societies reveals a much deeper problem with Humans than I like having you involved in._

As the years pass, many things happen. The first is faking the death _Jacques_ and second, faking the birth of _John_ – an entirely demeaning role for J'onn, as he has to pretend to be E'hlan's son for years, aging as a Human would and going to school as a Human would. Similarly, once 'John' is fully grown, 'Elise' has to die and become John's newborn daughter, Ellen. This is far easier on J'onn's pride and Ellen, around the age J'onn was when he first had children, gets to have her ego squashed – however, Ellen finds it far easier to do the 'Human thing' and growing up again. Seeing her make friends and run around her school playground reminds J'onn once again how they lived in solitude in France and how E'hlan never did get that chance to learn how to act in human society properly. She did well during World War Two…

"Ellen is very dependent on you," her teacher states bluntly one parents evening, when E'hlan is pretending to be seven. "She is very mature for her age, but socially, she's stunted. Even the other children can see it and they've known her since kindergarten. I and the school counsellor think it might be a great idea for you both to see her together, one day, or maybe a private practitioner. It's important you do something about this, as it's impacting on her learning. If she were any younger, I'd say she gets separation anxiety."

…it is a wake-up call of its own. Martians, traditionally, are close-knit and the human statement of 'it takes a village to raise a child' applies to Martians as a whole very well. But J'onn recognises what E'hlan's teacher says and takes it under serious consideration, especially after the last comment about E'hlan's supposed separation anxiety. J'onn at least knows he is clingy, that he does not want to be very far away from the only daughter of Mars left in the universe.

"Summer camp is always an option," Irene, the parent of one of E'hlan's friends suggests, smiling sadly. "It's hard on the kid and the parent, both, but if you're really having problems like that, maybe being away from each other for some extended weeks would reduce both your distress. My Emily likes the escape, personally. Perhaps they could go together?"

E'hlan goes on the summer camp. In no particular order, the _month and a half_ she spends there makes J'onn feel: nervous, terrified, alone, happy, anxious and paranoid. The entire time she's away, J'onn worries to the point where he slacks in everything, just waiting for her to come home. It's only when his boss at the garage asks him what the hell is up with his behaviour that he begins to pull himself together. By the time she returns, both Martians are a lot more relaxed about time apart.

In other words, when E'hlan asks if she can go on the school trip to Disneyland, J'onn lets her and neither alien frets over the distance.

"I'm moving out," is the first thing E'hlan says to him the morning she turns 'nineteen', a month after her first and three-quarter centennial. "I've already begun to transfer to a different college and I've got my deposit set for my new apartment."

J'onn briefly balks at the idea before slowly nodding, brushing a hand over his dark chin. "Okay. That's…good. This is good." Nodding, J'onn smiles, E'hlan nervously matching him as he stands. "Do you have everything ready? Have you packed your things in secret? Did you sort out your insurance?"

E'hlan moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts and J'onn checks out her flatshare roommate, a girl by the name of Lucy, who – like E'hlan – is part of the Law School there at Harvard. J'onn kisses E'hlan on the forehead before he goes, before pressing their heads together for a long time, softly melding their minds before parting.

Once returned to Opal City, J'onn too makes the decision to move, the apartment suddenly all too big and encompassing. Switching to National City, J'onn finds work in a new garage, using his free time taking night classes in human biology, his human education during this lifetime qualifying him to begin at an advanced level.

"Papa," E'hlan starts over dinner one day, during a holiday a few years into her course, "What am I supposed to say to someone who says I made them see colour?"

J'onn, knowing how humans have their own version of heart-mate's, immediately freezes. Thoughts rush through his brain as he tries to find the words, but all he can do is look to the woman beside E'hlan, who had come along to dinner, introducing herself as _Susie, uh, Susan- sorry. Susie Danvers. I'm Susie Danvers_.

E'hlan's physical attachment to the human, who she hadn't stopped holding hands with all night, suddenly making so much more sense.

"Do you know?" He questions Susie, glad to see her swallow and then straighten her spine. _Good girl._

"That you're both aliens? Yeah. Yeah, I know."

J'onn chuckles under his breath, before placing his hands on the countertop, slowly shifting out of his copied, borrowed body into his true form. Susie stares, eyes widening in awe.

"Wow. You're so much taller than E'hlan."

J'onn chuckles at E'hlan's squawk of protest. "Hey!"

"To answer your question," he interrupts, thinking of T'ania and K'hym, wondering how this conversation would have gone with them, his heart aching with an age-old pain. "I would start by explaining Martian heart-mates and how your mind reaches for them, because of how your inner fires are compatible."

"I've done that," E'hlan says, squeezing Susie's hand lightly. "We've known for a while about this."

"And you didn't tell me, which is fair, as I live far away," J'onn nods once, before shifting back to human form, smiling kindly at them both. "I am happy for you both, my children."

Susie blushes slightly, happy embarrassment at his acceptance practically bouncing off the walls. To give her more privacy, J'onn, for lack of better word, reboots his mental shields after prodding E'hlan to do the same. She does, sighing a little at the loss of her heart-mate's emotions.

"Be polite," he reminds his daughter, who rolls her eyes before sitting down and launching into a tale of their first meeting.

J'onn listens, feeling truly happy inside.


End file.
